As director ofThe Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., Frances Gullandsees firsthand the effects of the oceans’ deteriorating state. Her patients have includedcancer-stricken sea lions whose tumors are thought to be associated with PCBs, sea otters infectedby a parasite linked to run-off, and fur seals sickened by toxic algae. These animals act as “anearly warning system,” says Gulland. “All these things could happen to us.”

A recent study led by theNational Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis inSanta Barbara, Calif., found that close to half of the oceans are “fairly degraded,” and only 3.7%show little or no impact from human activity. Oceans help keep the environment healthy by absorbingcarbon dioxide. But now the results of that intake are evident. The seas have risen, warmed, andacidified worldwide. Those changes, combined with overfishing, have caused 90% of our big fish todisappear, according to Leon Panetta, co-chair of theJoint Ocean Commission Initiative. “Pollutionhas led to almost 26,000 U.S. beaches being temporarily closed or put under advisories,” he adds, “and nearly 90% of our wetlands, the nurseries for fish, have vanished due to development. Theoceans are in crisis.”

The U.S. government spends relatively little on the sea. Around $18,700 per square mile goesto the National Park System, while $400 per square mile goes to its ocean counterpart, the NationalMarine Sanctuary System. Private charities show a similar trend. “Close to 99% of conservationdollars donated go to land causes, and 1% to oceans,” says Debra Erickson, executive director ofthe nonprofitKerzner Marine Foundation (KMF). “But over 70%of the Earth is covered by oceans.”

Lack of public attention may be due to the sea’s placid appearance. “You look atthe surface, and it looks fine,” says Prof. Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University in Corvallis.“Yet below the surface is a whole different story.” The Blue Project—a collaboration among KMF,other nonprofits, and Kerzner’s Atlantis resort in the Bahamas—is trying to educate people aboutwhat’s happening underwater, specifically with coral reefs. Atlantis visitors can go scuba divingor snorkeling and see the stark difference between a healthy reef filled with colorful creaturesand a degraded one that contains bleached coral and not much else. “When you see a reef that hasthe proper number of fish in it vs. one that doesn’t, it takes your breath away,” saysErickson. —Daryl Chen

As director ofThe Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., Frances Gullandsees firsthand the effects of the oceans’ deteriorating state. Her patients have includedcancer-stricken sea lions whose tumors are thought to be associated with PCBs, sea otters infectedby a parasite linked to run-off, and fur seals sickened by toxic algae. These animals act as “anearly warning system,” says Gulland. “All these things could happen to us.”

A recent study led by theNational Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis inSanta Barbara, Calif., found that close to half of the oceans are “fairly degraded,” and only 3.7%show little or no impact from human activity. Oceans help keep the environment healthy by absorbingcarbon dioxide. But now the results of that intake are evident. The seas have risen, warmed, andacidified worldwide. Those changes, combined with overfishing, have caused 90% of our big fish todisappear, according to Leon Panetta, co-chair of theJoint Ocean Commission Initiative. “Pollutionhas led to almost 26,000 U.S. beaches being temporarily closed or put under advisories,” he adds, “and nearly 90% of our wetlands, the nurseries for fish, have vanished due to development. Theoceans are in crisis.”

The U.S. government spends relatively little on the sea. Around $18,700 per square mile goesto the National Park System, while $400 per square mile goes to its ocean counterpart, the NationalMarine Sanctuary System. Private charities show a similar trend. “Close to 99% of conservationdollars donated go to land causes, and 1% to oceans,” says Debra Erickson, executive director ofthe nonprofitKerzner Marine Foundation (KMF). “But over 70%of the Earth is covered by oceans.”

Lack of public attention may be due to the sea’s placid appearance. “You look atthe surface, and it looks fine,” says Prof. Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University in Corvallis.“Yet below the surface is a whole different story.” The Blue Project—a collaboration among KMF,other nonprofits, and Kerzner’s Atlantis resort in the Bahamas—is trying to educate people aboutwhat’s happening underwater, specifically with coral reefs. Atlantis visitors can go scuba divingor snorkeling and see the stark difference between a healthy reef filled with colorful creaturesand a degraded one that contains bleached coral and not much else. “When you see a reef that hasthe proper number of fish in it vs. one that doesn’t, it takes your breath away,” saysErickson. —Daryl Chen

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